ROCHESTER, Ind. — Nearly two weeks after Dean Foods Co. announced it would end 60 years of production at its Rochester plant by mid-October, city and county officials are assessing the economic impact this will have.

For most, it can be summed up in one word: Devastating.

At stake are 138 jobs plus an anticipated $120,000 annual revenue loss by Rochester’s water department and nearly a $300,000 loss in wastewater revenues and surcharges. The closing will also affect the plant’s electricity supplier, as well as claiming a corporate citizen noted for donating milk for community fundraising dinners.

Those expecting to be unemployed by October can apply for jobs at Dean plants in Huntington and Decatur but will not be given bumping rights.

In making the announcement, spokeswoman Jamaison Schuler said the company regretted the impact the closing would have on employees and the community. She said the move did not reflect the quality of work performed by employees, but stressed the need to remove redundancy in the company’s operations.

That streamlining began in May when 17 employees were laid off because of “a recent customer change.” While workers are reeling from the blow, it came as no surprise to many who long feared what would happen to the Rochester plant should Dean Foods lose its Meijer account. A plant in Evart, Mich., closed in 2012 when Meijer, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based regional chain, purchased Bareman’s Dairy in Holland Township.

The May layoff followed Meijer’s opening of a $100 million dairy processing facility for milk, cottage cheese and yogurt at its Tipp City, Ohio, warehouse complex.

Indiana Workforce Development will be able to help employees with résumé preparation and finding new jobs. Union officials (United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy Allied Industrial and Service Workers International) will help employees with unemployment claims.

In the meantime, dairy producers are seeking new markets for their milk and wondering if they will see a decrease in premiums and prices paid.

Ted McKinney, director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, said the Rochester closing will reaffirm the importance of Indiana’s new dairy strategy that includes a focus on expanding its current dairy processors, attracting new dairy processing facilities and adopting policies that support and improve dairy farming operations.

“Indiana is still very much in the hunt to add another processing facility,” he said.